Forensic science – familiar to most of us thanks to its appearances in popular TV police dramas – is the application of science to law and is carried out through the recovery, analysis, interpretation and presentation of scientific evidence, from crime scene to court.
If you have an enquiring mind, are good at solving scientific problems and want to work with cutting-edge equipment and facilities, then you could be the right person to work as a crime scene investigator or to analyse the evidence recovered from that scene.
In year 1, you will study the foundations of both chemistry and biology for forensic science, you will develop your forensic, professional and quantitative skills, including crime scene and forensic photography skills, and learn much more about a broad array of areas of forensic science in the essentials of forensic investigations module.
In year 2, you will learn about bodies, tissues and fluids, drugs and trace evidence, analytical forensic chemistry and will go on to learn more about the legal system in our issues in criminal justice module.
In your final year, you will cover forensic case studies, DNA profiling and the presentation of evidence, fire and toxicology and conduct a piece of research in our research project and professional skills module.
Key features
- This course was developed in collaboration with Leicestershire Police and is professionally accredited by The Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences ensuring your learning is of high-quality and remains relevant to current practice and standards.
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You will have lots of opportunity to develop your practical and professional skills in our crime scene house, crime studio, crown court and our excellent forensic science laboratory facilities.
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Our strong links with industry mean you’ll not only develop practical and professional skills, but may also be offered the opportunity to apply them to real-world scenarios by spending a year on placement.
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Our teaching is delivered by a team of expert academics and former practitioners, including Leisa Nichols-Drew, who was awarded a prestigious Churchill Fellowship to help her to develop her work exploring international approaches to the forensic investigation of knife crime.
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Students have gained valuable and often unique international experience as part of their studies with our DMU Global programme, which has enabled students on previous trips to unearth information on human rights abuses and genocide in Guatemala, attend the New York Supreme Court to learn about judicial processes, and support refugees in Berlin.
- Our graduates have gone on to work for world-leading employers including Eurofins (formerly LGC Forensics), Cellmark Forensics, Key Forensic Services, GlaxoSmithKline, Reckitt Benckiser, 3M and the National Crime Agency.